Jake was an accomplished, hard-working person with a keen interest in the way the world works, and how he could make it work better. Jake was born in Voorschoten, The Netherlands, on February 15, 1922. He was a World War II hero in Holland. He was awarded the Resistance Memorial Cross, one of the highest honors given to Netherlands Resistance Fighters.

In 1941, Jake met Miep Legeer in the church choir. After the war, in 1946, they were married and carried away in a horse-drawn carriage. In 1950, they immigrated to the United States and settled in Glen Cove, on the north shore of Long Island, New York. He began working for Grumman Aerospace Corporation, where he worked on the Lunar Excursion Module (LEM), which landed on the moon in 1969.

He and Miep moved to Ashland in 1984, the year he retired from Grumman. Jake filled his retirement with his many passions, including trout fishing in mountain lakes, playing the organ, walking for miles and miles, and making silver and stone jewelry. He and Miep enjoyed traveling to locales near and far, including New Zealand, Holland, Italy, Germany, Austria, Former Yugoslavia, the Caribbean, and Alaska.

He is survived by his wife of 67 years, Miep Van Cuilenburg, of Ashland, Oregon. He is also survived by his daughter, Rita (Bill) Petrocine of Ashland, Oregon, as well as five grandchildren and four great-grandchildren: Kirsten (Mark, Sonja) Pennington of Portland, Oregon; Kyle (Esther) Petrocine of Portland, Oregon; Kaija (Josh, Natalie, Bryce) Johnston of Leesburg, Virginia; Sara Petrocine of Portland, Oregon; and Cole (Brittany, Maranne) Dinse of Fairport, New York. He was preceded in death by his daughter, Kitty Dinse.

A memorial service for Jake will be held at the Ashland First Presbyterian Church at 11:00 a.m., Saturday, October 19, 2013. Donations in lieu of flowers may be given to a charity of your choice.